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EARLY'S GREAT RAID 

He Advances Through Maryland, 

BATTLE OF MONOCACY, 



The Union Forces Under Gen, Lew Wallace 

Stubbornly Contest the Field Against 

Overpowering Numbers, 



WALLACE RETREATS, 



Narrow Escape from Capture of Gen, E, B, Tyler 
and his Staff and Orderlies. 



By E, Y. Goldsborough, First Lieutenant and Aid^dc-'Camp} 

Past Department Commander, Department of 

Maryland, G, A, R„ Frederick, Md. 



[copyrighted.] 



J 



»3orarily, under Col. A. L. Brown; Capt, Alexander's 
(Md.) Battery, six g"uns, and 100 men of the 150th 
Ohio National (iuard (serving- as mounted infantry,) 
commanded b\' Capt. E, H. Leib, 5th U, S. Cav., 
and 'Capt H. S, Allen; Lieut. Col. Clendennin's 
squadron of the 8th 111, Cav. of 250 men, and four 




Showing- Positions of Federal and Rebel Troops West of 
Frederick, July 7th, 1864. 



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I m III ■! lai— i— ii^ " ,. ill I • 



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MONOCACY BA-r-PLKFIELD AND ViCIXITY. 



companies ol the 1st Potomac Home Brig^adc, about 
200 strong-, under Capt. Brown. 

See report of Gen. Wallace, War of the Rebellion, 
Series 1, Volume 37, Part 1, pag^e 193. 

On Thursday, July 7, Lieut, Col. ClendeTinin, 
with the 8th 111. Cav., and Lieut. Leary, with a sec- 
tion of Alexander's Battery, had a skirmish with 
the rebels on Catoctin Mountain and in Middletown 
Valley, and in the afternoon the 3d Md. P. H. B., 
the 8th 111 Cav., and three g-uns of Alexander's bat- 
tery and Capt. Lieb's mounted infantry had afig^ht 
with a strong- column of the rebel advance force 
about one mile west of Frederick City, between the 
Harper's Ferry and Hag-erstown turnpike roads, 
near Prospect Hill. (See position on map of July 7.) 

Rebellion Record, Series 1, Volume 37, Part 11, 
Pag-e 100, July 7th, 3:40 P. M. A larg-e force of 
\^eterans has arrived by water and will be sentim- 
mediatel}'. As Sigel's force remains on Maryland 
Heig-hts, you are doubtless aware of the g-reat im- 
portance of preserving- Monocacy bridg-e. If it be 
damag-ed or destroyed, g-reat delay will result in 
g-etting- forward re-enforcements to General Sig-el. 
I trust you will be able to maintain your position 
and protect fully this most important structure. 
At 4:55 Gen. Wallace replied: My troops are en- 
g-ag^ing- the enemy to west and in the skirts of Fred- 
erick. Warm cannonading- g-oing- on. I will hold 
the bridg-e at all hazards. Send on troops as rapidly 
as possible. 

J. W. Garrett teleg-raphs Mr. Stanton that our 
agent at Monocacy states: Some difficulty exists 
on account of the delicacy of Generals Wallace and 
Tyler in commanding- the troops west of the Mo- 
nocacy, in view of their departmental limits. 

July 7th, 9:00 P. M.— E. M. Stanton, Sec. of War, 
to J. W. Garrett, Esq: Gen. Wallace has been di- 
rected to operate without reference to departmental 
lines. Pages 108, 109 and 110. 

Pag^e 101, July 7th, 8:55 P. M.— J. W. Garrett to 

10 



Hon. K. M. Stanton: Gen. Wallace telegraphs that 
after a battle of four hours the enemy has been tin- 
ally repulsed from Frederick, 

After a sharp eng-ag^ement of about four hours, 
during which the rebels threw a number of shells 
into Frederick City, our batter}- dismounted one of 
the rebel guns and silenced their artillery, and they 
were driven back to the mountain by a charge bv 
the 3d Md. P. H. B., under Col. Gilpin. Our loss 
during the day was two men killed, one officer and 
17 men wounded; w^hilst the rebels reported loss 
was 140 killed and wounded. Thursday night Col. 
Gilpin's reg-iment. Col. Clendennin, w-ith the 8th 
111., Capt. Leib's mounted infantry, and Alexander's 
battery, resting on their arms, remained in the 
western suburbs of Frederick City, near the ground 
where they had fought during the afternoon. 

Rebellion Record, Series 1, Vol. 37, Part 11, page 
117.^ — Lieut. Shearer of Gen. Bradley T. Johnson's 
Staff, captured with two private soldiers, says that 
the design is not upon Pennsylvania, but upon 
Washington City. That the advance into Pennsyl- 
vania is a blind and a diversion to distract attention 
from the main object, and supply the exhausted 
stock of animals. 

Page 131. — Gen. Couch reports enemy about 
30,000, said to be 125 pieces of artillery, five brig- 
ades of cavalry, McCausland's, Jones', Jackson's, 
Imboden's and Ransom's. The first composed of 
four regiments 2800 strong. Three infantry di- 
visions, Early's, (commanding his old one,) Breck- 
inridg-e's and Rhodes'; Breckinridge's about 15,000. 
Having had no report from Col. Gilpin as to the 
result of his engagement with the enem}', or of his 
plans for further operations, Gen. Tyler directed 
Lieut. Goldsborough about midnight, Thursday 
night, to ride into Frederick, find Col. Gilpin, get 
all the information that he had of the strength of 
the force that he had fought with, the direction 
they were moving, &c. Lieut. Goldsborough went 

11 



to Frederick, found the 3d Md. Reg-t., and Alex- 
ander's Battery, one section, resting" on their arms 
on the hill, west Patrick street, at the Junction of 
the Harpers Ferry and Hag^erstown Turnpikes, 
and Col. Gilpin asleep in the House of Mr. Freder- 
ick Lambert, nearby, obtained a report from him 
and returned with it at once to Gen. Tyler at Mon- 
ocacy Junction. Upon receipt of the report from 




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Col. GUpin it was deemed best to send reinforce- 
ments to him, and early the next morning- (Friday, 
July 8th,) the 144th and 149th Ohio regiments, part 
of the force that had been collected at the Mono- 
•cacy Junction, Col. Brown commanding-; and later, 
Col. Henry with part of the 1st Brigade, 3d Div., 
'(')th Corps, marched from the Junction along- the 
east bank of the Monocacy, across the Stone Bridg-e 
and by way of the Baltimore Turnpike into Fred- 
erick Citv, under command of Brig-. Gen. E. B. 
Tyler, to support the 3d Md. P. H. B., three g-uns 
of Alexander's Battery, the 8th 111. Cav., under 
Lieut. Col. Clendennin, and the mounted infantry 
under Capt. Lieb. 

July 7th. — Gen. Ricketts' division of the 6th Corps 
■commenced arriving- at Baltimore at 6:30 P. M.; 
orders were issued at once to proceed to Monocac}- 
without delay. 

The result of the eng-agfementof Thursday after- 
noon, (July 7th,) and the information obtained by 
the scouts and skirmishers confirmed the rumors 
that the object of the raid was to plunder the rich 
vallies of Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, and 
then move in force on Washington City and perhaps 
Baltimore, both of which they knew were in a de- 
fenseless condition. It therefore became neces- 
sary for Gen. Wallace to make the best disposition 
that he could of his small force to dela}' the invad- 
ers and thus give time for, at least a partial defence 
of the National Capital, He knew that it would be 
idle to attempt to defend Frederick City against 
such overpowering^ numbers. The high bank of 
Monocacy River on the east side, extending for 
about three miles from south of Monocacy Junction, 
north of the Baltimore Turnpike, offered a pecu- 
liarly advantag-eous position for defense, covering 
the gfeat highways, the Georg-etown Turnpike to 
Washington, the Baltimore Turnpike to Baltimore 
and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. There it was 
decided to throw up fortifications and give battle, 

13 



to develop their streng-th and delay them as long- as 
we could. 

Our cavalry skirmished with the rebel cavalry 
during the day (Friday, July 8th,) along- Catoctin 
Mountain, near Rocky Springs School House, and 
the artillery stationed near the city limits on the 
north side of the road had a spirited fight with a 




Showing Federal and Rebel Lines of Battle July 8th, 1864. 

14 



rebel battery on Hag-an's Hill, about a mile west of 
the city, on the south side of the Hag^erstown road, 
(see map for positions of July 8th,) killing- a num- 
ber of their men and horses, with a loss on our side 
of one officer and one man killed and seven men 
wounded. 

As the day advanced we found that we were op- 
posing an army entirely too strong to be checked 
by our small command, and it was determined to 
abandon Frederick City, as it appeared that the 
enem3''s object was to move around us to the south 
and get possession of the Washington Turnpike. 

Rebellion Record, Series 1, Volume 37, Part 11, 
page 127, July 8th, 8:00 P. M.— Wallace determines 
to withdraw immediately from Frederick and cover 
Washington if necessary. 

Page 128. — Halleck telegraphs to Gen. Ricketts 
to report to Gen. Wallace, and assist him in re- 
tarding the enemy's movements towards Washing-- 
ton and Baltimore. 

Toward evening- all our quartermaster and com- 
missary stores were sent away, and at night the 
troops were quietlv withdrawn from Frederick 
City, and marched by the same route over which 
we had come in the morning, back to Monocacy 
Junction, where it was determined we would make 
a stand the next day. After we withdrew the reb- 
els came in and took possession of Frederick City. 

That Friday evening the Third Division of the 
6th Corps, Army of the Potomac, Brig. Gen. James 
B. Rickets commanding, reached Monocacy Junc- 
tion, having been sent up from the Army of the 
Potomac, comprising the following commands: 

First Brigade. — Col. W. S. Truex, commanding, 
1,750 men; 106th N. Y., Col. Paine; 151st N. Y., Col. 
ICmerson; I4th N. J., Lieut. Col. Hall; 10th Vt., 
Col. Henry; 87th Pa., Lieut. Col. Stable. 

Second Brigade. — 1,600 men. Col. McClennan, 
commanding--138th Pa ; 9th N. Y., Col. Seward; 
126th Ohio, Lieut. Col. Ebright; 110th Ohio, Lieut. 

15 



Col. Binkley, and a detachment of the 122d Ohio, 
Second Lieut, (libson; total, 3,350 men; increasing; 
our numbers to about 5,850 infantry, Alexander's- 
Maryland Battery of six three-inch rifle guns, and 
a 24 pound brass Howitzer^ that was placed near 
the blockhouse on the east bank of the Monocacy» 

The residue of the Third Division of the Sixth 
Corps, it was reported, would arrive the next day. 
It came up to Monrovia, but did not take part in 
the battle. 

Page 138. — Statement of light on Friday, July 
8th, and evacuation of Frederick that night. 

On Saturday morning, July 9th, we found that 
the enemy had followed us closely, and picket-fire- 
ing began soon after daylight. 

From their friends in Frederick (the rebel sym- 
pathizers) they had obtained information of our 
movements and strength, and with their vastly su- 
perior numbers, estimated at about 30,000 men, 
they doubtless thought it would be an easy task to 
annihilate us whenever they concluded to do so. 
Our line, somewhat in the form of a semi-circle, ex- 
tended from Baker's farm, on the Georg-etown 
Turnpike, to the Monocac}' Junction; thence along* 
the east bank of the Monocacy River to the Stone 
Bridge on the Baltimore Turnpike, and toHug-hes* 
Ford beyond, a distance of about six miles in all, 
with a picket line on the west side of the river, hold- 
ing the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at the Y formed 
by the main line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 
and the branch road from Frederick City; to pro- 
tect the turnpike bridge and the (iron) railroad 
bridge, that the rebels might not use them to cross 
a force over to break our center, and also a picket 
line on the Baltimore Turnpike, on the west side of 
Monocacy, guarding the Stone Bridge, "to prevent 
them from getting in on our right flank. Our po- 
sition on the left from Baker's farm to Monocacy 
Junction extended along the crest of a range of V- :11s 
overlooking the valleys beyond; and yet, with our 

16 



small numbers and a necessarily weak and long-- 
drawn-out line, to cover a front of about two miles, 
with probably 3,500 men; the Georgetown or Wash- 
ington Turnpike, the road that the enemy would 
use on their way to the Capital, was so well guarded 
that it was not 'till late in the afternoon that we 
were compelled to abandon it. 

Although there had been skirmish-firing earlier, 
the fight really began about 9:00 o'clock on our cen- 
ter, and the rebels were detained, securing the 
$200,000 which they had levied upon the City of 
Frederick, with the threat that the city would be 
sacked and burned unless it was paid, so that their 
main body did not reach the battlefield until after- 
noon. 

In the morning a column of infantry marched 
down the Georgetown Turnpike from Frederick 
City, followed by artillery. They threw out skir- 
mishers and began firing. 

About 8:00 o'clock in the morning a rifle gun 
posted on a hillock between two trees, a IHtle west 
of the Frederick branch of the Baltimore & Ohio 
Railroad, on what was then known as the Cronise 
farm, opened fire upon our Headquarters near the 
railroad bridge, the first shot mortally wounding 
two men of the 15lst N. Y. In this first firing 
several men of the 87th Pa. Regt. were severely 
wownded, whilst the regiment laid in the yard in 
front of Mr. GambrilFs house, and one or two killed 
near Gambrill's mill. Their range was so accu- 
rate that we were soon compelled to change Head- 
quarters to a position near the blockhouse on the 
north side of the railroad, and to move some troops 
that were near the old warehouse on the south side 
of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad nearer to our 
Headquarters, that they might have the protection 
of the hill formed by the east bank of the Mono- 
cacy, which at that point rises to quite a height 
above the river. 

At the Stone Bridge, on the Baltimore Turnpike, 

17 



Col. Brown, commanding- the 144th and 149th Ohio, 
deployed a skirmish line along' the crest of the ridg"e 
on the west side of the Monocacy at daybreak, and 
having-. placed a strong- g-uard at Crum's Ford, about 
a mile above the railroad bridg-e, made such other 
dispositions of his forces as seemed necessary to 
enable him to hold his position. At about 6:00 A. 
M., a force of the enemy having- marched from 
Frederick, by the Baltimore Turnpike, threw out 
a skirmish line and opened fire on our men. Later 
in the morning-, about 10:00 A. M., a force of rebel 
cavalry attempted to cross at Crum's Ford and 
turn our left; but Col. Brown sent Co. E, of the 
149th Ohio, and a company of the mounted infantry 
under Capt. Leib, to reinforce the infantry g-uard 
under Capt. McGinnis, holding- the ford, and the 
enemy were driven back and prevented from cross- 
ing- the river, and withdrew. 

About 500 yards west of the ridg-e on which our 
skirmish line deployed, is another parallel ridg-e 
with a little valley between, extending- north of the 
turnpike and breaking- off into a wider rang-e of 
lowland to the Monocacy River at our extreme 
rig^ht. On this ridg-e, on the northsideof the turn- 
pike, stood a dwelling--house, (Simpson's log- house) 
in which a force of rebel sharpshooters was located, 
where they had excellent protection, and from 
which, through holes pierced in the chinking-«be- 
tween the logs, their guns commanded a complete 
rang-e of'the ridge behind which our skirmish line 
was deployed. So accurate was their fire that it 
was dang-erous for our men to even show their 
heads above the hilltop. 

About noon, having- massed a heavy force of in- 
fantry on the left of our skirmish line defending- 
the Stone Bridge, they deployed and advanced upon 
us. The superiority of their numbers enabled 
them to force back our left and secure an enfilad- 
ing- fire upon our line. To reg-ain the position we 
had lost, Co. B, 149th Ohio, was ordered to charg-e 

18 



the enemy with fixed bayonets, which they did, but 
were repulsed. Cos. B, I and G of the 144th Ohio 
were sent to reinforce Co. B, and the rebels were 
routed. 

There seemed to be no point where an attack 
could be made that was not taken advantag-e of by 
the rebels, and defended with equal promptness by 
the union forces. As soon as the artillery opened on 
our Headquarters, near the railroad bridg-e, a body 
of rebel sharpshooters who had taken possession 
of Best's barn, on the west side of the Georgetown 
Turnpike, began to pick off our skirmishers de- 
fending the railroad, from the railroad station to 
the turnpike at the Y. 

Three guns of Alexander's battery and a brass 
cannon were at once placed in position on the hill 
on the east bank of the Monocacy, near the block- 
house. A well-directed shell set fire to Best's barn 
and scattered the rebel sharpshooters, giving some 
relief to the detachment of the 10th Vt., and 1st 
Md. P. H. B., along the railroad, and turning the 
fig-ht on our center for the rest of the day mostly 
into an artillery duel. 

About 10:30 A. M., the first line of battle appeared 
and Gen. Ricketts was compelled to change front 
to the left, his right now resting on the river bank 
near the wooden bridge. Whilst making this 
change his command was under an enfilading fire 
from the batteries posted on Best's farm across the 
river. About the same time a body of rebel cavalry 
(McCausland's,) dismounted and deployed as skir- 
mishers, advanced upon our left along the George- 
town Turnpike, evidently expecting that ours were 
new troops, but they soon discovered their mistake 
and were driven back in confusion and with heavy 
loss, by the veterans of the old Sixth Corps. 

About noon an attack was made upon the de- 
tachment of the 10th Vt., two companies of the 1st 
Md. P. H. B., and one company of the 9th N. Y. 
H. A., who were guarding the blockhouse and the 

19 



railroad at the Y on the west side of the Monocacy. 

The fig-hting- was very severe, and our men, with 
heavy loss, stubbornly held their g-round until af- 
ternoon, when they were ordered to fall back to the 
rifle pits on the east side of the Monocacy. They 
burned the blockhouse to prevent the rebels using- 
it, and the wooden bridg-e over the Monocacy, and 
then retired across the river and occupied the rifle 
pits, successfully g^uarding- the railroad bridg^e until 
our troops (the main body) retreated. About the 
same time the main portion of their army, about 
20,000 strong-, having left Frederick City, marched 
out the Georg-etown Turnpike, thence by the Sand 
Hole Road, now known as the Buckeystown Turn- 
pide, to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, nearShoaf's 
Creek, and moving- south of the Monocacy Junction, 
and west of the Georgetown Turnpike, crossed the 
river, which was then very low, at an old ford about 
a mile below the wooden bridg-e, where, near Mr. 
John T. Worthing-ton's house, under the cover of a 
heavy woods and behind the hill, they formed their 
line of battle opposite our extreme left. 

The left of our line, commanded by Gen. Rick- 
etts, was composed of a part of the Sixth Corps, 
Army of the Potomac, viz: First Brig-ade. — Col. 
W. S. Truex, commanding— 106th N. Y., Capt. 
Paine; 151st N. Y., Col. Emerson; 14th N. J., Lieut. 
Col. Hall; 10th Vt, Col. Henry; 87th Pa., Lieut. Col. 
James A. Stable. Second Brigade. — Col. Matthew 
R. McClennan, commanding- — 9th»N. Y. H. A., Col. 
W. H. Seward, Jr.; 110th Ohio, Lieut. Col. Binkiey; 
122d Ohio, (detachment,) Lieut. Charles J. Gibson; 
120th Ohio, Lieut. Col. Ebrig-ht; 138th Pa., Maj. 
Lewis K. May. Three g-uns of Alexander's Balti- 
more battery, supported on the left by'apartof the 
8th 111. Cav., commanded by Lieut. Col. Clendennin. 

The rig-ht, commanded by Brig-. Gen. E. B. Tyler, 
consisted of the First Separate Brig-ade, Eig-hth 
Corps; 3d Md. P. H. B., Col. Charles Gilpin; three 
companies of the 1st Md. P. H. B., under Capt. 

20 



Bamford; 11th Md., (100 days,) Col. Landstreet; 
three g-uns of Alexander's Baltimore Battery, and 
a 24 pound Howitzer, extended along- the east side 
of the Monocacy River, guarding: the railroad bridg-e 




and the fords on the river to the Stone Bridg-e on the 
Baltimore Turnpike, which was held by the 144th 
and 149th Ohio (100 days men,) under Col. Brown, 
whilst Hug-hes' Ford, about a half-mile north of the 
btone Bndg-e, forming- our extreme rig-ht, was 
g-uarded by a few cavalrymen. 

The rebel forces that made the invasion into 
Maryland were composed of Ewell's old Corps (en- 
tire,) consisting: of three divisions, commanded re- 
spectively by Gens. Rodes, Gordon and Ransom, 
and of Breckinridg-e's Corps, with a larg-e body of 
cavalry and a force of artillery, all under comm'and 
of Gen. Jubal A. Early, and divided as follows: 



Ewell's Old Corps (infantry) - 
Breckinridg^e's Corps (infantry) 
Artillery - - . _ 
Cavalry - - - _ . 

Total 



12,000 

10,000 

1,000 

7,000 

30,000 



Gen. McCausland commanded a brig-ade of cav- 
alry, and Gen. Bradley T. Johnson had command 
of Jones' Brigade, of the Valley ca\alry. Gen. Gor- 
don, commanding- a division, was under Breckin- 
ridg-e, who commanded his own and Gordon's Di- 
visions. See Rebellion Record, Series 1, Volume 
37, Part 1, pag-e 350. 

21 



Until about 10:30 A. M., the fig-hting- on our cen- 
ter and left was mostly skirmishing- and experi- 
mental cannonading-, which very effectually de- 
veloped the superiority, both in the number and 
caliber, of the enemy's g-uns. We had six 3-inch 
rifle cannons to their 16 or 18 Napoleons. The 
rebel cavalry and artillery had pushed rapidly to- 
ward our left, crossed the river and charg-ed upon 
Gen. Ricketts Third Division, Sixth Corps, with a 
recklessness that indicated their belief that they 
were iig-hting- raw troops. Gen. Ricketts chang-ed 
front to the left, so that his rig-ht rested on the 
bank of the river, repulsed the enemy, and then 
charg-ed and drove them back. 

During- this time our line was subjected to a con- 
tinuously heavy enfilading- fire from two or more 
rebel batteries on the west side of the Monocacy 
River, By 1:00 o'clock P. M., it became evident 
from the g-reat superiority of their numbers and 
the g-reater length of their lines, that we must put 
all our available force before them on the left. Ac- 
cording-ly, the blockhouse on the west side of the 
Monocacy, and the wooden bridg-e were burned, 




and the force that had been on g-uard there was 
withdrawn to the east side of the river to g-uard the 
railroad bridg-e, whilst such as could be spared 
were sent to streng-then Gen. Ricketts' line of bat- 
tle. Two more of the g-uns of Alexander's battery 

22 



were also sent to Gen. Ricketts. About 2:00 o'clock 
P. M., Gen. Gordon crossed about a mile below the 
Monocacy Junction, formed their second line and 
advanced on our left. We now had all our forces 
in one line, with no reserves except the 11th Md., 
which was with Gen. Tyler at the iron bridg-e, ex- 
pecting- at any moment to be sent to assist Col. 
Brown at the Stone Bridg-e. The rebel skirmish- 
ers fell back, and, with a yell, their line charg-ed 
upon our left. Our boys, cool and calm, held their 
lire 'till the enemy were within close rang-e; they 
then poured into them terrible and well-directed 
volleys, followed by a charg-e that routed them and 
sent them back past Worthing-ton's house with 
broken ranks and heavy loss. 

Mortified at this unexpected repulse, and terri- 
fied by the reception that had been g-iven them by 
the Sixth Corps, they declared that they would not 
advance ag-ain. The officers, brandishing- their 
swords, cursed and swore at their men and ordered 
them into line. Our troops occupied the position 
they had g-ained for about an hour, when orders 
were g-iven to advance the line, which was done un- 
der a murderous fire of musketry and artillery, the 
latter coming- obliquely from the front and rear, 
and an enfilading- fire directly from the rig-ht from 
the batteries on the west side of the river. 

It was impossible to hold this position under such 
a fire, and our line fell back and formed along- a cut 
-in the Washing-ton Turnpike, still exposed to the 
fire of the artillery. 

Rebellion Record, Series 1, Volume 37, Part 1, 
pag-e 196. — Gen Wallace says: Finally by burning- 
the wooden bridg-e and block house at its further 
end, thus releasing- the force left to defend them, 
I put into the eng-ag-ement every available man ex- 
cept Tyler's Reserves. 

This charg^e developed their streng-th. Heavy 
skirmish firing- continued until 3:30 P. M., when 
they emerg-ed from behind a woods, where they 

23 



had formed, with a strong- skirmish line and two 
lines of battle, one behind the other, each of which 
overlapped ours, both on our rig^ht and left flanks, 
and outnumbering- us at least three to one. With 
a yell they came charging down the hill. The 6th 
Corps stood its ground manfully, repulsed their 
skirmish line and held their third line of battle in 
check 'till our ammunition gave out and the enemy 
had turned our right Hank, when, seeing the im- 
minent danger of our forces being- annihilated by 
the overwhelming numbers of the enemy, the or- 
der was given to fall back, and our troops withdrew 
under a terrific fire of infantry and artillery. 

The residue of the 3d division of the 6th Corps re- 
mained at Monrovia, on the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- 
road, and did not take part in the battle. 

When the infantry line fell back Col. Clendennin, 
with a part of the 8th 111. Cav., that had supported 
our left flank, retired toward Urbana, closely pur- 
sued by McCausland's Cavalry Brig-ade, and after 
some severe fig-hting- fell back to Monrovia. Over- 
powered by an enemy apparently four to one, our 
troops slowly retreated past Gambrill's Mill, along- 
the east bank of the Monocacy to Bartonsville, thence 
to New Market and Monrovia, thence by the Balti- 
more Turnpike to Ellicott's Mills and to Baltimore 
City. 

When the battle was over, and we had begun to 
retreat, it was all-important that we hold the Stone 
Bridg-e. Gen. Wallace ordered Col. Brown to hold, 
the Stone Bridg^e over the Monocacy, on the Balti- 
more Turnpike, to the last extremity, and when he 
was pressed so hard that nothing more could be 
done to command his men to disperse and to take 
care of themselves. Col. Brown made such dispo- 
sition of the forces under his command ashe thought 
would enable him to hold out as long- as possible. 
He contracted his skirmish line, thus strengthen- 
ing his center, and covered all the commanding- 
points that he could. Orders were given to the 

24 



cavalry to take such position as would protect the 
left flank, on the east side of the river. Gen. Tyler 
had started with his reserves (the 11th Md.) to Col. 
Brown's assistance, but on receipt of the order of 
Gen. Wallace to hold the bridg-e. Gen. Tyler, with 
Capt. Webb and Lieut. Goldsboroug-h, of his staff, 
g"alloped to the bridg^e and took command in person. 
When the head of the retreating- column reached 
the pike, Gen. Wallace rode up to the bridg-e and 
ordered that it be held at all hazards by the force 
then there, until the enemy should be found in its 
rear, at least until the last reg-iment had cleared 
the County road by which the retreat was being ef- 
fected. This order Gen. Tyler obeyed. 

At about 6:00 P. M., when our retreating- column 
was well on the way to New Market, a heavy at- 
tack was made along- Col. Brown's entire front at 
the Stone Bridg-e. Gen. Tyler sent Lieut. Golds- 
boroug-h, of his staff, with an order to .Col. Land- 
street, commanding the 11th Md., to move his regi- 
ment from the position in which they were in the 
meadow below Bartonsville, and to move down the 
pike towards New Market to join our columns. 
Lieut. Goldsborough gave the order to Col. Land- 
street, saw the regiment start down the pike, rode 
back and reported to Gen. Tyler, who was then on 
the hill, on the east bank of the river, overlooking 
the bridge. All our troops, except those holding 
the Stone Bridge, had now left, and, satisfied that 
Col. Brown's forces could not withstand the attack 
of the enemy's greater force. Gen. Tyler ordered 
that he withdraw his men from the west to the east 
side of the river. The men had begun to cross the 
bridge when an Orderly rode up, saluted Gen. 
Tyler, and said: "General, the rebels have turned 
our left, and are in our rear near Bartonsville." 

Owing to the length of his lines and the knowl- 
edge that the enemy were in their rear attempting 
to cut off their retreat by taking possession of the 
bridge from the east side, the command was with- 

25 



drawn in confusion. Col. Brown attempted to rally 
his iiK-n, when the enemy brouifht up his artillery 
and threw several shells, one of which struck the 
bridg-e while the men were crossing- it. The Col- 
onel succeeded in rallying- some of his men in the 
orchard, on the hill overlooking the bridg-e, and 
they fired several rounds into the enemy, who were 
advancing from the west, and also those in the 
wheatfield and woods on the south. The enemy's 
skirmishers on the east side of the river now opened 
tire on our flanks. This fire was returned by the 
men in tbe orchard, and the advance checked. By 
this time our men learned that the main body of our 
army had moved away an hour and a half or two 
hours before, and that they were surrounded. 
Many of them broke and threw away their guns to 
prevent the enemy from getting- them, and at- 
tempted to save themselves. The Colonel suc- 
ceeded in bringing- off about 300 of his command, 
with which he joined the main body at New Mar- 
ket. As soon as he had learned from the Orderly 
that the enemy was in our rear, Gen. Tyler, with 
his staff and several Orderlies, rode off toward 
Bartonsville to see if the report was correct. When 
we reached the top of the hill, at the entrance to the 
road leading to N. (). Cline's house, we saw a body 
of rebel cavalry in the orchard at Bartonsville. 
They at once opened fire and charged upon us. Re- 
alizing that it would be impossible for us to get past 
the force of the enemy that was attacking us, to 
join our main column that was retreating down the 
turnpike, we took the road leading past Cline's 
house, past the mill, and on to Hughes' Ford, so 
closely pursued that there was no chance of escape, 
except to continue on the road on the east bank of 
the river to the old Liberty road, which leads to 
Baltimore. Riding along we saw by the clouds of 
dust along the Woodsbon) Road, that s'^uads of 
cavalry were moving- in the direction that we were, 
but we hoped to get ahead of them. We reached 

2(. 



the Liberty Road, turned east in the direction of 
Baltimore, and rode into the villag"e of Mount Pleas- 
ant, where, to our surprise, we came upon a squad 
of rebel cavalry plundering- a store. Our little 
party then consisted of Gen. Tyler, Capt. Webb, 
and Lieut. Goldsboroug-h, of the staff, and two or 
three Orderlies. Seeing- that we were Federal sol- 
diers they fired upon us, and either wounded or 
captured our Orderlies. We at once put spurs to 
our horses and dashed down the road for about a 
mile, when, discovering that they were pursuing, 
and as our horses were well worn out, would soon 
overtake us, we turned from the road into the 
woods, where Capt. Webb's horse fell and threw 
the Captain under him. 

The General and I dismounted, got the horse up, 
and helped the Captain on his feet. We then aband- 
oned our horses, turned them into the road and 
took to the bushes. Supposing that we were still 
on the horses, they followed them down the road 
and captured them. In the meantime we came 
across a colored man, named Ridgely, who piloted 
us to a safe hiding place in a dense thicket. That 
night we helped Capt. Webb, who was now quite 
lame from his accident, to the house of Mr. Ephriam 
Creager, a Unionist, living near by, who cared for 
him 'till our escape. We returned to our hiding 
place, where we remained until the following Mon- 
day evening, July 11th, when a squad of our cavalry 
that had driven the rear of the rebel column out of 
Frederick City, rescued us and brought us to Fred- 
erick City, whence with an escort of cavalry, we 
proceeded by way of the Baltimore Turnpike, and 
rejoined our command at the Relay House, on the 
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, near Baltimore. 

When the infantry retreated toward the Balti- 
more Turnpike, Lieut. Col. Clendennin, with about 
80 men of the 8th 111. Cav., on Ricketts' extreme 
left, was cut off from the main body and retired 
toward Urbana, skirmishing with McCausland's 

27 



Cavalry Brig-adc, which pressed them closely by and 
made several charg-es. On one of these, at Urbana, 
the 17th Va. Cav. charf^cd desperately, but were 
repulsed with the loss of their colors (captured by 
Col. Clendennin himself,) their Major, color-bearer 
and several men killed and a number wounded. 
Deploving- his 80 men as skirmishers and making- 
a show of having received reinforcements, the 
enemy dismounted a regiment to fig"ht him on foot 
and sent their horses to the rear. Col. Clenden- 
nin immediate!}' called back his skirmishers over a 
hill and fell back to Monrovia. There was heavy 
skirmishing along the Georgetown or Washing^ton 
Turnpike in front of Gen, Tyler's line during- the 
day until about the time the retreat beg-an. 

At the angle where the branch of the Baltimore 
& Ohio Railroad from Frederick City connects with 
the main road, passing under the bridg^e over the 
turnpike and forming the Y, our loss was severe. 
But the heaviest fighting was in a hollow, between 
the hills not far from Gambrill's Mill. Through 
the hollow runs a little stream, and so g^reat was 
the number of dead and wounded along- its banks, 
that the water for about 100 yards was red with 
blood. Our troops retreated quietly, and the enemy 
did not seem anxious to renew the figiit or attempt 
to capture them, as they mig-ht have done with 
their much larger numbers. We did not lose any 
of our battle flags, nor did they capture any of our 
artillery, as the entire battery and even the 24 
pound Howitzer, and a mountain Howitzer that had 
been used to defend the railroad bridg-e at Mono- 
cacy, were brought safely off the field and taken to 
Baltimore. After the battle ended and our troops 
had moved off in the direction of Baltimore, squads 
of rebel soldiers traversed the country in every di- 
rection, taking- horses, forage and whatever they 
wanted, as there was nothing to stop theo, and it 
was not until Sunday morning, after burying their 
dead and damaging the iron railroad bridge at the 

28 



Monocacy, that Gen. Early resumed his march to- 
ward Washing-ton. 

The wounded were broug-ht to the United States 
General Hospital at Frederick City and cared for. 

COMPOSITION AND I.OSSI-^S OF THE UNION FORCl-:S 
IN THE BATTLE OF MONOCACY. 



iKill'dWnd, 



Command. 



Eig-ht Corps, First Sep- 
arate Brig-ade. 
Brig-. Gen. Erastus B. 

Tvler. 
1st Md. P. H. B., (five 

companies,) Cap. Chas. 

J. Brown 

3rd Md. P. H. B., Col. 

Charles Gilpin 

11th Md., Col. Wm. T. 

Landstreet 

144th Ohio (3 Go's,) ) 
149th Ohio (7 Go's,) V 
Col. A. L. Brown, ) 

Baltimore Batter}-, Capt. 

F. W. Alexander 



Total First Separate Bri- 
g-ade 

Cavalry. 
Lieut. Col. David R.Clen- 

dennin. 
8th 111., Lieut. Col. David 



Cap'd: 

or 
MisV 



12 . 

7 

2 
10 

25 



8' 2 



60 



35! 
64 



biD 

u 
bn 

be 
< 



19 
13 

2 
49 
98 



108 185 



29 



TABIE CON 

K. Clendennin 

I5*)th Ohio (dtch. mounted 
Inf.,) Cap. K. H. Leib, 
and Cap. H. S. Allen.. 
Detachment of mixed cav- 
alry, Mai. Wells 

Loudoun ( Va.) Rang-ers . . 

Total cavalry 

f)th Corps, 3d Div., Gen. 

J. B. Ricketts. Staff.. 

r,th Corps 3d Div., IstBrig. 

Col. W. S. Truex," Staff 

14th N. J., Lieut. Col. C. 

K. Hall 

106th N. Y., Capt. E. M. 

Paine 

151st N. Y., Col. Wm. 

Emerson 

87th Pa., Lieut. Col. Jas. 

A. Stahle 

10th Vt., Col. Wm. W. 

Henry 

Total IstBrig-ade 

Second Brig^ade. 
Col. M. R. McClennan. 
9th N. Y. H. A., Col. W. 

H. Seward, Jr 

110th Ohio, Lieut. Col. O. 

H. Binkley 

122d Ohio (detachment,) 

Lieut. C. J. Gibson 

12r>th Ohio, Lieut. CoL.A. 

W. Ebrig-ht 

138th Pa., Maj. L. A May 

Total 2d Brig-ade 

Total 3d Division 

Grand Total 



TINUED. 

1 51 21 19 



b 2 

1 



19 



22 

14 

24 

9 

5 



74 



27 
9 



12 
3 
4 
6 



79 
70 
44 
28 

240 



J J5 
j|_99 
10113 



84 



77 



3 40 

151248 ] 
321488 
36|567 



29 
44 
32 
31 
31 



167 



99 

50 

46 

51 

_ J8 

j'274 

4'441 

11'557 



36 
1 
1 

140 
133 
101 

74 
56 



506 



201 

138 

60 



30 



The 6th Maryland, 67th Pennsylvania and part 
of the 122nd Ohio did not reach the battle field. 

Killed 123, wounded 605, total killed and wounded 
726, captured 668; total killed, wonuded and cap- 
tured 1,294. 

The following- is a list of the Union officers killed 
or mortally wounded: Capt. John V. Morris, 8th 
111. Cav.; Lieut. Charles S. Gilbert, 8th 111. Cav.; 
Capt. Henry J. Conine. 14th N. J.; Capt. Henry W. 
Stults, 14th N. J.; Capt. James W. Conover, 14th N. 
J.; Lieut. James H. Ellis, 9th H. A.; Capt. Alfred 
J. Hooker, 106th N, Y.; Capt. Martin J. Camberlin, 
106th N. Y.; Lieut. John King-ston, 106th N. Y.; 
Capt. William A. Hathaway, 110th Ohio; Lieut Geo. 
O. McMillen, 110th Ohio; Lieut. Jefferson O. McMil- 
lan, 122d Ohio; Lieut. Anthony M. Martin, 87th Pa.; 
Lieut. Charles F. Haack, 87th Pa.; Lieut. Daniel D. 
Dieterich, 87th Pa.; Lieut. John F. Spang-ler, 87th 
Pa. 

On the Confederate side, Maj.-Gen. John B. Gor- 
don, in his report of the battle, says: "I reg-ret to 
state that my loss was heavy in both officers and 
men, amounting- in the ag-g-reg-ate, as shown by tab- 
ular report of brig-ade commanders, to be 698." 
The estimate of the Confederate killed and wound- 
ed, as made from information on the Union side, 
amounted to about 275 killed and 435 wounded and 
left in hospital and private houses at Frederick 
City, making 710 killed and wounded, among- whom 
Col. J. H. Lamar and Lieut.-Col. Van Valkenburg-, 
of the 61st Ga., were killed, and Lieut.-Col. Hodg-es, 
9th La., Hay's Brig-ade, was severely wounded and 
left in the hospital in Frederick City. 

Federal killed 123, wounded 603, total - 726. 

Rebel killed 275, wounded 435, " - 710. 



1,436 



Total killed, on both sides, - 398 

" wounded, on both sides, - 1,038 

" killed and wounded, - 1,436 

31 



I do not pt-ojjose to criticise the conduct of, or 
iharjjfc with inefficiency, any officer on the Confed- 
erate side, but it seems to nie that opportunities of 
securinf,^ for the Southeran Confederacy the most 
important results soug-ht to V^e accomplished by 
their invasion into Maryland were entirely over- 
looked or by the battle of Monocacy prevented. 
For instance, in the en<rai^ement on the afternoon 
of July 7th, south-west of Frederick City, our line 
extended only from the Harper's Ferry road near 
Prospect HiH to the Hag-erstown road, thus leaving- 
open the road leading- past Prospect Hill on the 
south into the Harper's Ferry road beyond the left 
of our line;and bevond our ritrht, the roads running- 
trom the Hag-erstown turnpike, by way of Shooks- 
town, into the Almshouse road to Frederick City. 
Neither of these roads could be closed by us with 
our small force, and had the enemy, whilst eng-ag-- 
ing- us in front with infantry and artillery, sent a 
body of cavalry by way of the road passing- south 
of Prospect Hill, they could have pushed across the 
fields to the south side of Frederick City, near Mt. 
Olivet Cemetery, almost unobserved, whilst another 
column, moving- via the Shook'stown and Almshouse 
roads, could have entered the city on the northwest, 
passed down Market street, and formings a junction 
with the column entering- by the south, could have 
attacked us in the rear. 

Thus surrounded and cut off from reinforce- 
ments from Monocacy Junction, our whole force 
mig-ht have been either captured or destroyed bv 
an attack by superior numbers both in front and 
rear. Then by a prompt movement to Monocacy 
Junction they could have defeated Gen. Tyler with 
his little reserve command of less, at that time, 
than 1,500 men. Having- done this they could have 
plundered the city and country, and pushing- on 
with little or no opposition have taken AV-.shing-ton 
City bevond doubt. But, ag-ain, instead of stop- 
ping- in Hag-erstown a day and in Frederick City 

32 



part of a day for plunder, if they had passed on 
and attacked us on Thursday or Friday at Mono* 
cacy, they could then have defeated us much more 
easily than they did; because we were not so well 
prepared to meet them or reinforced as we were on 
Saturday. The}- could then have reached Washing-- 
ton City by Saturday morning- or evening-, and have 
captured it, as it was not now properly prepared 
for defense till troops from the Army of the Poto- 
mac arrived on the Sunday evening- or Monday 
morning-. Had the}' not been delayed and badly 
cut up at Monocacy, and have hurried on to Wash- 
ing-ton even on Saturday afternoon, instead of re- 
maining at Monocacy Junction and roaming- over 
the country for plunder after the fig-ht until Sunday, 
and taken the Capital, a larg-e part of the Army of the 
Potomac would most likely have been called back for 
its recapture and defense, the Treasury with all its 
stored-up wealth would have been in their posses- 
sion, and its money would have lifted the Confeder- 
acy out of much of its poverty and distress, whilst 
the announcement in Europe that they had posses- 
sion of the National Capital would have secured 
recogrnition for the Southern Confederacy in Eng-- 
land, and perhaps other countries, thus g-iving- it a 
place among the" nations of the world and aid that 
mig-ht at least have prolong-ed the war and g-reatly 
increased its cost both in money and human life. 

It is acknowledg-ed by those who were in it on 
both sides to have been one of the hardest foug-ht 
and most sanguinary battles of the war, consider- 
ingthe numbers engaged and theshorttime itlasted, 
and for the momentous results secured by it, one 
of the most important. 

In the light of these facts, and what might have 
followed from .a different handling of the rebel 
forces before and during the fight, I have always 
felt that the importance of the Battle of Monocacy 
has never been properly recognized, nor just credit 
given to those engaged in it on the Union side, for 

33 



the skill and bravery with which it was fought, es- 
pecially when the g-reat disparity in numbers is 
taken into account. 

The Government at Washing-ton was apprised 
that the object of Early's raid was to attack and 
capture Washing-ton City, and had the force at Mo- 
nocacy been double what it was, say 12,000 or 
14,000 men, instead of about 6,000, 1 believe that the 
raid would not only have failed, as it did, on account 
of the Battle of Monocacy, to take the Capital, but 
that Early's army would have been so cut up and 
crippled that but a small part would have g-otten 
back to the Confederacy. 

I have been told that after the Battle of Mono- 
cacy, a prominent officer who had been in most of 
the important battles of the war, said that the 
character of wounds of the men left upon the battle 
field of Monocacy, were as horrible as any he had 
seen on any other battle field, and that he noticed 
a fact that was of rare occurence, that a very larg-e 
number were shot in the forehead, showing- that 
they must have been shot as they arose from be- 
hind a breast-work, and at short rang-e from the 
enemy. 

This short, but as General Gordon calls it, terri- 
ble eng-ag-ement, proved the error of the belief so 
common at the beg-inning- of the war, that one 
southern man was equal to three on the other side, 
or that bravery was the result of locality, birth or 
sectional pride. But that deeds of heroism and 
bravery were numerous alike on both sides, and 
that in this battle, as in every other of the Civil 
War, the Union soldier and the Confederate, each 
found in the ranks of his opponents, foemen worthy 
of his steel, and on both sides the finest soldiers in 
the world. 

Whoever visited that bloody field at the close of the 
battle, cannot but admit, that whatever has been 
said unfairly and unjustly about the retreat of 
those who escaped the terrors of the figfht, the 

34 



g-hastly sig-hts presented by the dead and wounded 
fully attest their heroism and patriotic devotion to 
duty, and the fearful strug-g-le and terrible storm 
of suffering- and death throug-h which that noble 
little band of brave men passed, in their efforts to 
i.ave the National Capital. 

As an Aid-de-Camp on the staff of General Tyler, 
and having- actively participated in all the arrang-e- 
ments for, as well as, in the Battle, I had the most 
favorable opportunities for knowings what trans- 
pired. I have therefore with confidence referred 
to the records of the War Department for corrobo- 
ration of what I have stated. M}^ object in writing- 
this history has been to preserve a fair and accu- 
rate account of this battle, the importance and ex- 
tent of which seem to have been so imperfectly un- 
derstood; and to secure for those engaged in it the 
credit they so nobly won, but which has been so 
unjustly withheld from them. I feel sure that no 
one will charg-e that my desire to secure for myself 
some share of this honor is without a reasonable 
g-round, for I then and there did my duty as it 
came to me, without any compensation other than 
that reward which every man feels in the faithful 
discharg-e of an honorable service. 

[finis,] 



35 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




